First Year Calculus Choices

First Year Calculus Choices

First Year Math Course Choices at a Glance

All of our differential calculus
courses (MATH 100, 102, 104, 180, 184, and
110) are equivalent, and bring students to the
same level upon completion. MATH 100,
102, and 104 are one-term courses for students
who have taken a high school calculus
course. MATH 180 and 184 have associated
workshops to help students who have not taken
a high school calculus course achieve the
expected level in one term. While we
offer no remedial courses in the Mathematics
Department, the slower pacing and associated
workshops in MATH 110 allow students without
strong pre-calculus backgrounds the
opportunity to reach this level in two terms
instead of one term.

All of our integral calculus courses (MATH
101, 103, and 105) are equivalent.

UBC Math
Courses

Required
High School Academic Qualifications*

Math 100
or
Math 102
or
Math 104

One of the
following:
a) A grade of 80% or higher in BC
Pre-Calculus 12 or an equivalent course.
b) A score of 5 or higher in IB Math
HL or SL
c) A score of 4 or 5 in AP
Calculus AB.
d) A qualifying score on the UBC Math Basic Skills Test.
Students who do not meet one of the other
qualifications may register only in MATH
110 until they have written the BST at the
start of term and achieved a qualifying
score. Switching from MATH 110 to
another MATH differential calculus course
is based on availability of spaces.

Additional
Information: We strongly
recommend at least a passing
grade in a Calculus 12 or equivalent
course. Math 100 has applications
to Engineering and Physical Sciences, Math
102 to Life Sciences, and Math 104 to
Commerce and Social Sciences. Any of
them will act as a
prerequisite for Math 101, 103, or
105. Students will be permitted to
register in only one of MATH 100, 102,
104, 180, or 184.

Additional
Information: Calculus 12 is
not
required for either of these
courses. MATH 180 has applications
to Engineering and Physical
Sciences and MATH 184 to Commerce and
Social Sciences. They are equivalent
to each other and MATH 100, 102, and
104. There are problem solving
workshops required for MATH 180 and
184. Either of MATH 180 or MATH 184
will act as a prerequisite for MATH 101,
103, or 105. Students will be permitted to
register in only one of MATH 100,
102, 104, 180, or 184.

Math 110

One
of the following:
a) A grade of 65% or higher in BC
Pre-Calculus 12 or an equivalent
course. Normally, students with
grades of 85% or higher in BC Pre-Calculus
12 or an equivalent course will not be
permitted to take MATH 110.
b) A score of 2-4 in IB Math HL or
SL. Note that IB Math Studies does
not qualify students to take MATH
110.
c) A grade of 50% to 64% in BC Pre-Calculus 12 or
an equivalent course AND a qualifying score on the
UBC Math Basic Skills Test. Students with a passing
grade below 65% in BC Pre-Calculus 12 may only register
in MATH 110 after they have written the BST at the start of
term and have achieved a qualifying score. Registration
is MATH 110 is dependent on the availability of spaces.

Additional
Information:Calculus
12 is not
required for this
course. MATH 110 is equivalent to
MATH 100, 102, 104, 180, or 184 but is
taught over two terms rather than the
usual one. See Math 110
for further details. MATH 110 will act as
a prerequisite for MATH 101, 103, or 105.

*

UBC
Admissions is the department that
receives and assesses high school
transcripts for incoming students.
It is essential that you make sure
your information is sent to them as soon
as your grades are available and
updated when changes occur so they are
current. They can be
reached at admissions.inquiry@ubc.ca.
You can check what our department sees
when assessing your math qualifications in
the Student Service Centre (SSC) - look
for your "High School Record". If your High
School Record is incomplete, inaccurate,
or out of date, contact UBC Admissions
directly at the email address above to
get things corrected and then contact
our department to let us know once it
has been fixed. Do not send our
department your transcripts or ask us to
fix it.
Additional Information: If
you wish to take the Basic Skills Test,
please go to Math
Basic Skills Test for
information. It is only offered at
the end of August/ start of September near
the start of term.

Which UBC
calculus course should I register in?

Advice concerning
100-level courses

Read
below for the scenario that matches your
situation. Registration in all courses depends
on availability of spaces, not just on your qualifications.

Important
Note: Enforcement of prerequisites is
strict. However, if you only have an
interim Pre-Calculus 12 or equivalent grade
available when you register, you will not be
required to change your registration if your
final grade would no longer qualify you for
the course you have chosen. You would be
advised to switch your registration, however,
if your final grade indicates you should take
MATH 110 instead of a one-term calculus
course: historic performance data
indicate students who do not meet the
prerequisites for a one-term calculus course
have a very high likelihood of failing such a
course. If you are missing a grade for
Pre-Calculus 12 or equivalent, you will not be
permitted to register in any 100-level MATH
courses.

I have already satisfied the
pre-calculus requirements as listed above for
MATH 100, 102, 104, 180, and 184.You should register in
one of MATH 100, 102, or 104 if you have passed
a high school calculus course.
If you have not passed a high school calculus
course, you should register for MATH 180 or
184.View the course
outlines to determine which course is best
suited for your program of study.

Iím currently meeting the
requirements as listed above for Math 100,
102, 104, 180, and 184, but my grade 12
pre-calculus course is still in progress.You should register in
one of Math 100, 102, or 104 if you have passed
a high school calculus course.
If you have not passed a high school calculus
course, you should register for Math 180 or
184.View
the course
outlines to determine which course is best
suited for your program of study.If your final grade 12 math results (once
they are available) no longer meet the
requirements, you should consider switching to
MATH 110.

Note that MATH 110
will have an overall cap on the number of seats
available.

Iím
currently not meeting the requirements as
listed above for Math 100, 102, 104, 180, and
184, but my grade 12 pre-calculus course is
still in progress and I think I will meet
these requirements once my final grades are
available.
You should register in MATH 110 as students
whose interim grades are below the equivalent of
80% in BC Pre-Calculus 12 will not be permitted
to register in a one-term calculus course.
Should your final grade (once it is available)
end up meeting the requirements for MATH 100,
102, 104, 180, or 184, you may switch your
registration from MATH 110 to one of these
courses if space is available. If your
final grade does not meet the requirements for a
one-term calculus course, you may take the UBC
Math Basic Skills Test at the start of
term to try to qualify for a one-term calculus
course, or you may remain in MATH 110. Even with
a qualifying score on the BST, switching courses
can only be done if there is space available.

I donít think Iíll meet the
requirements as listed above for Math 100,
102, 104, 180, and 184 but I will or already
have met the requirements for Math 110.You should register in
Math 110.This is a
two-term (6 credit) course that covers the same
content as the one-term courses (Math 100, 102,
104, 180, 184) but with additional material
designed to strengthen understanding of
essential pre-calculus topics.

I have not taken grade 12
pre-calculus math (BC Pre-Calculus 12 or its
equivalent).All first-year
calculus courses (including MATH 110) at UBC
require successful completion of grade 12
pre-calculus math (BC Pre-Calculus 12 or its
equivalent).If you
have not taken such a course in high school,
Math 002 is a non-credit course offered by UBC
Continuing Studies, and is accepted as a
prerequisite for MATH 180 and MATH 184 (if you
score 80% or higher) or MATH 110 (if you
score 50-79%).

I have very high math grades in
high school and perform well in math contests
such as the Euclid or
Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge.MATH 120 is a 4-credit enriched
course suitable for students who particularly
enjoy mathematics and have demonstrated
considerable talent. The prerequisites for the
course make this clear: students are expected to
have a grade of 95% or better in grade 12
pre-calculus math (BC Pre-Calculus 12 or its
equivalent) or to have distinguished themselves
in a recognized mathematics contest, or to have
some other distinctive qualification. If you
qualify but are unable to register yourself into
this course on-line, please contact the
Undergraduate Chair, quoting your UBC student
number, at ugradchair@math.ubc.ca.

Iím taking International
Baccalaureate Math or Advanced Placement
Calculus.
If you scored 4 or 5 on AP Calculus AB, you can
claim 3 credits for Math 100 and continue your
study of Calculus with one of MATH 101, 103, or
105. All sections of these courses available to
first year students are given in Term 2; a useful
Mathematics course to take in Term 1 is MATH 221.
If you scored 4 or 5 on AP Calculus BC, you can
claim 6 credits for MATH 100 and MATH 101 and take
courses that build on these. Students who score 6
or better in the "Higher Level Mathematics" course
offered by International Baccalaureate programs
can also claim 6 credits of Math 100 and 101.
Using your transfer credit is optional; students
with AP or IB credits are allowed to sign up for
any regular first-year calculus course.
Experienced instructors suggest that students with
an AP score of 5 are fully prepared to move into
subsequent courses, whereas students with a score
of 4 often benefit considerably by taking a full
calculus sequence at UBC.

Success in AP or IB Calculus confers transfer
credit only, with no grade shown on the
transcript.

Students who take one of MATH
100, 102, 104, or 120 even though their transcript
already shows 3 credits for AP or IB Calculus
should remember that only one of these choices can
be counted toward their required credit totals for
graduation. For example, a student who scores 5 in
AP Calculus (earning 3 credits for MATH 100) and
then passes MATH 100 (a 3 credit course) can count
only 3 of these credits towards graduation, even
when both courses appear on the transcript.

Can I write a Challenge Exam?The UBC-SFU-UVic-UNBC
Calculus
Challenge Exam provides an
alternative to the transfer credit options
above. Only students who have not yet started
College or University are eligible to write it.
The Challenge Examination result is treated just
like a UBC course grade for MATH 100; it appears
on the academic record, and influences the
calculation of the grade-point average. Students
may opt to set aside this achievement (receiving
neither the numerical grade nor the credits) and
enrol in a full first-year calculus sequence
instead, but the Mathematics Department
recommends against this. The examining committee
sends all passing students a letter describing
how to claim their grade and credits and stating
relevant deadlines (typically early September).

Are there
enriched courses for strong math students?Students who score 75% or better on
the Challenge Exam or earn 5 on AP Calculus AB
are eligible for MATH 223, an enriched course in
linear algebra, in Term 1, and MATH 121, Honours
Integral Calculus, in Term 2. If you
qualify but are unable to register yourself into
these courses on-line, please contact the
Undergraduate Chair, quoting your UBC student
number, at ugradchair@math.ubc.ca.

What course
should I take in Term 2?
The following two-term course sequences are
typical:

However, it is possible to take any one of MATH
100, 102, 104, 120, 180, or 184 in Term 1 and
follow it with any one of MATH 101, 103, 105,
or 121 in Term 2. (Note that admission to MATH
121 requires a high mark in Term 1.)